INO:

S&P 500 ekes out record close despite Cisco and Walmart losses; European stocks close lower as US-China talks hit stalemate; Germany avoids recession

The S&P 500 inched higher on Thursday to a record close, but persisting worries around U.S-China trade relations and declines in Cisco Systems and Walmart tempered the excitement around Wall Street. The broad index closed just 0.1% higher at 3,096.63 as the real estate and material sectors outperformed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, closed marginally lower at 27,781.96 while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.04% to 8,479.02.
In corporate news, Walmart reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations, briefly sending its stock to record levels. Cisco, meanwhile, issued weak revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter, overshadowing stronger-than-forecast quarterly results.
European stocks traded slightly lower Thursday as trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are understood to have hit a roadblock. The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged 0.29% below the flatline, with autos slipping more than 1% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses traded in negative territory.
German GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 0.1% in the third quarter, exceeding the -0.1% contraction expected and narrowly avoiding a technical recession. Second-quarter GDP growth was revised down from -0.1% to -0.2%.
The wider euro zone economy grew by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, in line with expectations and marking a 1.2% increase year-on-year.
Daimler shares fell more than 3.2% to lead the automotive sector into the red after the German carmaker announced a cost-cutting program which it said will “negatively impact” earnings in 2020 and 2021.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA:

NBS buys nine tons of gold on international market for the first time; GDP to grow 3.6% in 2019

The governor of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), Jorgovanka Tabakovic, has stated that, in October, the central bank bought nine tons of gold for the first time on the international market. Serbia can boast a diversification of FX reserves with the best quality assets - Tabakovic said at the presentation of the monthly inflation report. She pointed out that the gross FX reserves of the NBS had exceeded EUR 14 billion. The bought gold, as she said, is kept in a safe place, at the Swiss central bank, as a defense from any sort of risk in the international environment. The new projection of the NBS is that the growth of Serbia’s GDP will be 3.6% this year, instead of the previously projected 3.5%, and it’s even possible that the growth will be bigger - Tabakovic said.
Source: Ekapija

ENHL: Energoprojekt’s volume of contracted jobs in 2019 may be below planned level

According to the report provided by Energoprojekt, which was a part of non-consolidated earnings document, the company planned to acquire EUR 273m of new jobs in 2019, while in 9 months of the year there were EUR 151m of actually contracted. This means, the company will need few larger projects to acquire in order to reach its goal for 2019. At the moment, Energoprojekt’s backlog stands at EUR 379m, out of which EUR 152m is related to foreign markets, while remaining EUR 227 is from Serbia.
Source: Belex, Ilirika

Saranovic still not making offer for takeover of Kras

Serbian businessman Nebojsa Saranovic, the owner of Kappa Star, currently owns 25.37% of Kras, which means that he has passed the threshold allowing him to make a voluntary offer for the takeover of their shares. Last week, this second biggest stakeholder informed the Zagreb Stock Exchange that he owned 25.01% of the Coratian confectionery brand, because he was obliged by law to do so. However, he continued buying shares this week, which were worth around HRK 1,050 (EUR 140.9) yesterday. That brings him even closer to the share of 30.73% held by Mesna Industrija Braca Pivac. As Politika writes, Saranovic does not yet want to make a voluntary offer for the takeover, as his interest is to acquire a larger stake.
Source: Ekapija